Tag: Advent
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Pattern Your Whole Life After God’s Will
(Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24) Note: This blog post is split up into sections for ease of reading. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 In rapid fire no less than eight imperatives follow one after the other. With eight commands Paul reviews for us what “God’s will” for us is “in Christ Jesus.” These are not man-made guidelines. They…
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The Lord Sends His Servant to Announce Good News
(Read Isaiah 61:1-3, 10-11) Note: This blog post is split up into sections for ease of reading. Isaiah 61:1-3 Who speaks in these verses? Whom has the Lord anointed and sent to preach good news? Isaiah identified the speaker in several earlier passages. In 11:2, the prophet wrote that the Spirit of the Lord would…
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Prepare the Way for the King
(Read John 1:6-8, 19-28) Note: This blog post is split up into sections for ease of reading. John 1:6-8 The apostle John has not yet identified exactly who the Word with the light is. Instead, he introduces a man whom God sent to be a witness to the light. The man’s name, like the gospel…
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Grow in Readiness for Jesus’ Return
(Read 2 Peter 3:8-14) Note: This blog post is split up into sections for ease of reading. 2 Peter 3:8-9 If people in Peter’s day thought that God would never return (if indeed he was ever there in the first place), how much more hardened and apathetic are the people of today with two thousand…
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The Lord Rescues His People
(Read Isaiah 40:1-11) Note: This blog post is split up into sections for ease of reading. Isaiah 40:1-2 Not just once, “Comfort”, but twice, “Comfort, comfort.” So the Lord begins with a single repeated command. The command flows from the mind of God, and God himself directed it toward his messengers, who will announce the…
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John the Baptist Prepares the Way
(Read Mark 1:1-8) Note: This blog post is split up into sections for ease of reading. Mark 1:1 Each word of this title is important in order to understand what Mark wishes to transmit to his readers. It is clear that this title is first of all a profound statement of Mark’s own faith. Mark…
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Faith Turns to the Lord in Prayer
(Read Isaiah 64:1-9) Note: This blog post is split up into sections for ease of reading. Isaiah 64:1-2 Faith turns to the Lord in prayer. Even when God appears barricaded in heaven, ignoring the suffering of his people, faith prays. Consider the example of King Hezekiah. When King Hezekiah peered out from behind Jerusalem’s walls…
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The Triumphal Entry
Why start the season of Advent with a reading about Palm Sunday? It’s easy for us to lose sight of Jesus’ mission around this time of year—to only see him as a baby in a manger. This reading from Mark sets our eyes on what our Savior came here to do—to rescue us from our…